Nasa has asked Elon Musk, who owns the rocket company SpaceX, to help with a new mission.<\/p>\n
The aim of it is to explore a giant metallic asteroid called 16 Psyche. It's often called the 'golden asteroid' because it contains metals worth A LOT of money.<\/p>\n
Gold isn't the only metal it has lots of - large quantities of platinum, iron and nickel also make it very valuable. <\/p>\n
It's thought that if all the metal on the asteroid were valued, it would be worth a gigantic $15.8 quadrillion (that's 15.8 followed by 17 zeros!).<\/p>\n
But even if the spacecraft does successfully reach the asteroid, there are currently no plans for mining or to remove the metal. <\/p>\n
Nasa says the trip is simply a research mission to examine what the asteroid is made of. <\/p>\n
The Psyche mission will be Nasa's first time investigating a world of metal, rather than rock and ice. <\/p>\n
In a statement the space agency said: \"The asteroid is considered unique, as it appears to largely be made of the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet - one of the building blocks of our solar system.\"<\/p>\n
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The giant rock, which measures about 140 miles across, is found in an asteroid belt in our Solar System between Mars and Jupiter. <\/p>\n
Nasa scientists believe 16 Psyche is a survivor of collisions between planets, which were common when the Solar System was forming.<\/p>\n
That means it could tell us how Earth's core and the cores of the other planets were formed.<\/p>\n
If everything goes to plan, Musk's rocket-building company SpaceX and Nasa will launch an un-crewed spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in Florida in 2022, with the spacecraft arriving at the asteroid in 2026.<\/p>\n
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Nasa and SpaceX mission to find space gold - CBBC Newsround<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nasa has asked Elon Musk, who owns the rocket company SpaceX, to help with a new mission. The aim of it is to explore a giant metallic asteroid called 16 Psyche. It's often called the 'golden asteroid' because it contains metals worth A LOT of money. Continue reading